Page 15 of The Bride's Billionaire

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tyler’s eyes widen, and then he checked his notes.

“Yes. I’m so happy to finally meet you, Mr. Soares.”

He led her to the table. “Please call me Rogerio and allow me to introduce my vice president, Mr. De Santos. And this is Tyler Sperring.”

“With Sperring Bottlers.” She nodded her head slowly. What were the odds? And how would they play this?

She shook hands with Mr. De Santos, and then Tyler reached his hand forward with a slight wink. “Good to meet you, Miss Finley.” The slight emphasis on Finley made her smile.

“And you too, Mr. Sperring.” Her hand tingled long after she let go of his. She turned to Rogerio. “Did the meeting start earlier than planned?”

He waved his hand. “Oh, no. Tyler and I were just catching up. Come in. Have a seat and we can talk about how this is going to go.”

How this was going to go. Kayla didn’t like surprises, and she wasn’t at all spontaneous when it came to her work. She had been told what to expect. She would come, present her company’s bid, and then leave. Now she’d arrived to discover that her competitor was here too? Nothing about this was going according to her expectation. And Tyler himself? Her skin already felt warm just being in the same room.

She took the chair that was held out for her and tried to be professional. But one problem with being professional right now was that her brain was foggy from being out all night. The other problem being Tyler watched her. His gaze tingled her skin even more. She refused to meet his eyes. Thinking on her toes might be impossible as long as she was in the same room as him.

Tyler lifted his cup. “Have you had coffee?” The gesture was kind. She knew he meant it as a subtle reference to their time together, and she warmed toward him, knowing he was in the same boat as she. Then she eyed him and the other men. They’d been sitting here for who knows how long, and they clearly already had a relationship. What kind of chance did she have with this bid, really? Suddenly feeling off her game and left out, she narrowed her eyes. “No, thank you.”

He raised his eyebrows and eyed her speculatively. Then he replaced his cup and turned to Rogerio. “The way I see it, there is one clear choice here in whom to choose for your new bottler, but I’m glad you’re giving others their shot.” He indicated Kayla, and she stiffened. “How’s this going to work today?”

She wasn’t about to let him have the only say in the room. “I believe the history of our businesses here in Brazil speaks for itself. Where some bottlers have a stronger presence internationally,” Kayla nodded her head toward Tyler, “we are loyal to this country and are determined to increase our footing here.” She cleared her throat. “While some may cut costs, consolidate, and people will lose jobs, we are also committed to helping Brazil’s infrastructure, job security, and your overall reception as a soft-drink provider as a result.”

Tyler’s face twitched. That’s when she realized that as much as she thought she knew him, she couldn’t read anything about this side of him and had no idea what to expect.

Mr. Rogerio laughed and held up his hands. “Already we are talking business. It’s too early for these kinds of heavy conversations. First, I thought we could do a little exploring of our city. I bet neither of you has had time to see our beautiful city?”

They shared a look, both deceptively blank. Then Tyler said, “That would be wonderful. It’s not often I have an inside tour from the experts.”

When the men stood, she did as well. “I’d love that. But to be clear, do we know what our schedule will be going forward?” She pulled up her phone as if to make notes.

Rogerio shook his head. “You Americans and your schedules. We’ll have some meetings, get to know each other, meet some more, and then we will get back to you with our decision.”

She nodded, and Tyler eyed her curiously. She really should have expected this informality. With the Brazilians, they were more about people and relationships than numbers and charts. And she valued that quality. Even though it made her uncomfortable, she let a little bit of her tightness go and smiled. “I can work with that. Let’s see one of the most remarkable cities in the world.”

“Isso. Mesmo.” (that’s right) Rogerio indicated the door, “Shall we?”

She nodded and was offered the space to pass through the door first. Head reeling, heart flipping all over the place, she felt Tyler’s eyes on her back and wondered, how was she going to make a successful bid in competition with Tyler? She had been shaken in more than one way in the last half hour, and if her company didn’t so desperately need this client, she might have rescheduled right then.

Chapter 6

Tyler followed Kayla out into the hall, joking with Rogerio but only half listening to his friend’s recounts of the local marketing success they’d been having. He had never been more shocked to see a person walk into a meeting. She’d left last night, driven away in the car, and only then did he realize he didn’t have her number, or even her last name, the name of her hotel, anything. He’d actually run down the sidewalk, hoping she’d realize and stop the car, but then her taxi had turned the corner and she was gone.

Mr. De Santos walked with Kayla as Rogerio still regaled Tyler with his stories. When he stopped for a breath and they reached the elevator, Tyler moved so he stood next to Kayla. He sensed her reaction to him more than saw it. He reached out a pinky finger and ran it along the side of her hand, asking “So, gentlemen, where shall we go first? I admit I’m looking forward to this.”

She stepped away, just enough that he couldn’t reach her.Hmm. He wished he could read her mind. What a situation to be in. Despite the complications, he was just relieved to have her back in his life. At least he could get her phone number, if she wanted to share. The elevator dinged open.

“Where are we going, you ask? Where is your sense of adventure? Spontaneity?” Rogerio chided.

Kayla snorted quietly beside him, and he winked.

Rogerio held his arms out. “It will be a surprise.”

Kayla smiled. “I love surprises.” She gritted her teeth after she said it, clenching her jaw, and Tyler wondered just how uncomfortable she found this whole situation. When he had to think about how he was going to win this bid without losing her forever, he might be doing his own jaw clenching, but for now, he figured they could play tourist a little bit longer.

They climbed into a waiting limo, and the car pulled out.

Rogerio gave instructions to the driver and then sat back. “Let’s drive along the ocean. I bet you haven’t seen Ipanema or Copacabana.” Then he broke out in song, “The copa, copa cabana, music and laughter—” He paused, watching them. “You don’t know Barry Manilow. All Americans, they come here and sing this song.”

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